Influenza A, COVID-19 on the rise

EAST TEXAS — The Texas Health and Human Services is reporting 5,124 influenza hospitalizations so far this month. According to our news partner KETK, these numbers have gone up by 2,000 since Nov. 15. Longview healthcare specialists and pharmacists said the majority of cases they see are people coming in with are COVID-19 and Influenza A. Multiple school districts in deep East Texas cancelled classes this week due to flu outbreaks, including the Cushing and Shelbyville ISD’s.

“We are definitely having an uptick in it in the last several weeks,” Family nurse practitioner at Hospitality ER Judson Lawerence said. “Our numbers have increased in both flu and COVID. But the earlier you can come in get treatment the better.”

Pharmacist at Louis Morgan, Shawn Sams, knows finding the right medicine to combat your symptoms can be a daunting task. Sams said if you have a wet cough, “This particular product is Mucinex, so it’s going to help break up the chest congestion and it’s also going to suppress the cough. So the idea is your cough less often, but when you do it, hopefully it’s more productive and you can get that mucus out of your chest.”

If you have watery eyes and a runny nose, “Use our antihistamine products are going to be things like XYZAL or Claritin, Zyrtec. Everybody knows Benadryl has been around forever. The Allegra is one that I prefer a lot because it lasts for 24 hours and doesn’t cause a lot of drowsiness.”

Wellness starts before symptoms surface, Hospitality ER’s reminding East Texans to do their part to stop the spread of illnesses.

“It goes back to the old common good hand-washing,” Lawrence said. “Wipe down everything at your house, cover your mouth when you cough. Those are the things that we recommend to help prevent at home.”